12
Mar
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According to Bloomberg News, the FCC has now officially approved the proposed T-Mobile / MetroPCS merger, roughly 5 months after the announcement of the deal back in October.

This was the final regulatory hurdle for the acquisition, and both companies' boards have also officially endorsed the move. However, the proposal's future does remain uncertain at this point, as major shareholders at MetroPCS have voiced concerns over its financial soundness. MetroPCS's single largest shareholder, John Paulson, argues that MetroPCS would be more successful and valuable in the long term if it remained an independent company.

02
Oct
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Update: Deutsche Telekom has confirmed that this merger will be happening (given regulatory approval), and that DT will run T-Mobile and MetroPCS as one company. The DT board will meet tomorrow to approve the transaction.

According to Reuters, "three sources familiar with the situation" are saying a deal between T-Mobile and MetroPCS is "close," and by close, they mean an announcement is probably happening tomorrow.

This is a bit odd, given that MetroPCS is a CDMA carrier, and that network is largely incompatible with T-Mobile's current spectrum holdings. MetroPCS does have a burgeoning LTE network, though, and this may be the proverbial apple of T-Mobile's eye driving the deal.